Ticks Can Cause Red Meat Allergies

Getting bitten by a tick is never fun, but recent research shows that it can also cause you to become allergic to red meat. As ticks spread, more and more people across the US and even around the globe are becoming allergic to red meat. Scientists believe it may have something to do with alpha-gal, a special sugar only animals produce. Listen to find out more about this increasingly common allergy.

Related Current Events

An estimated 1 in 13 children have food allergies. Some are potentially life-threatening and avoiding the allergen can be challenging and stressful. The blood tests and skin prick tests rule out specific food allergies but are not as accurate when confirming food allergies. The oral food challenge, where the food is eaten under the supervision of a doctor has become the gold-standard for determining allergies. Listen to this story about allergies as a health concern and the best way to tell if the food allergies have been outgrown.

An infestation of bed bugs is horrible, along with being costly to treat. They search for blood, mostly at night when people sleep, and their bites leave red welts and itchy skin. They spread easily and hide during the day, making them difficult to find. Getting rid of bed bugs is expensive and creates difficulties for low-income renters. Many tenants do not realize that their leases have sections that put the responsibility of getting rid of the bed bugs on them and not on their landlords. Listen to hear one family’s story and the options available to you when there is a bed bug infestation.

What you eat doesn’t just impact you; it impacts the environment. This is the argument that some nutritionists are presenting to U.S. Congressional Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee. They suggest Congress should consider the agricultural practices and the environmental impact of some foods when issuing nutrition guidelines. But that suggestion has not been well received by Congress. Listen to learn more about this effort to marry nutrition and environmentalism and the congressional backlash it has provoked.

This summer pork and beef prices are 11% higher than they were last summer. This rise in cost has not changed the buying habits of consumers. Today’s public radio story looks at the economics behind this rise in cost, and how supply and demand play into cost. It also features the perspective of farmers and people in the pork industry. Listen to learn why the supply of pork and beef is much lower this year than in years past.

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